


Lost Tooth

by Feelysonheelys



Category: The Aquabats! Super Show!
Genre: (implied) - Freeform, Eaglebones' superpower is osteoporosis, Gen, Mental Health Issues, OOC Is Serious Business, Panic Attacks, discussion of ableist language, one of those fics where it's mcrobot if you want it to be, some people??? put dangerous magic rocks in their mouth??? to cope???, they do get touchy-feely
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-14
Updated: 2018-10-14
Packaged: 2019-08-02 03:58:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16297736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Feelysonheelys/pseuds/Feelysonheelys
Summary: "Without the black tooth... there's no way I even want to, like, get out of bed, or hurt anything. The real Bat Commander is afraid of everything."The Commander loses something important. Eaglebones may not understand at first, but that's okay.





	Lost Tooth

**Author's Note:**

> In a recent video interview with Alterna Comics, we learned some neat details about the MC Bat Commander's black tooth, and how its magic actually effects him as a person (supplying the quotes in the summary). I found it super interesting, and it made me think about some things. Then I wrote down some things. Magic, y'all.
> 
> You can check out the interview here: https://youtu.be/FG-wV9jjVoQ?t=2586 The link begins at the first tooth-related question, ending at 45:00, and the second chunk of info comes at 48:50.

“Alright Aquabats,” Eaglebones ordered to the rest of the team, “To the Battletram!”

The four filed into the cockpit, fumbling as they collectively tried to remember whose turn it was to drive. 

“I think it was the Commander’s,” Crash offered.

Eaglebones sighed. “Well, that’s a lot of help.”

Crash shrugged. “Sorry.’

Jimmy gave him a pat on the back. “It’s not your fault, Crash. These things happen.”

“I’ll drive,” Ricky volunteered, sliding into the driver’s seat. “That Muscle Wizard said he was headed to the local recreation/seance center. I used to take gymnastics classes there. I’m pretty sure I know a shortcut, so we can beat him to it!”

“Excellent idea, Ricky,” Jimmy said as he began to strap in. “I’d keep the GPS navigation on anyway, just in case.”

“Actually, Jimmy?” Eaglebones pulled on the robot’s seat belt before he had finished buckling in. “I’m probably going to need your help getting the Commander in action.”

Jimmy nodded, standing up wordlessly.

“You guys stay up here and get to the location,” Bones directed. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea to use the missiles since we don’t want to lose the cargo. Call us up if you need us.” 

With affirmative nods from Crash and Ricky, Jimmy trailed behind Eaglebones, who was trying very hard to make it seem like he knew what he was doing. 

“So this has happened before?” Bones asked once they were out of earshot.

“Only once, in my experience,” Jimmy replied, “‘And it was some time ago. We weren’t fully able to pull him out of his funk until his tooth was back in his possession.”

Bones rolled his eyes. “Great.”

At first, when their opponent had managed to magically steal the Bat Commander’s “black magic tooth,” as he had called it, Eaglebones assumed that the Commander’s reaction would be his normal show of theatrics, similar to the reaction he and Ricky had gotten the time they had wiped off his mustache after he’d fallen asleep on the couch. However, instead of pursuing the enemy after he had begun gloating, he’d simply frozen in place before sprinting back aboard the Battletram. The Commander  _ never _ retreated; not in front of everyone, not without summoning the rest of the Aquabats to follow him or following it up with a lame excuse, and  _ never _ when he had the chance to engage in dumb battle banter. 

Eaglebones had never given the tooth much thought before. When you’re a bird-man with a guitar that shoots lightning and your roommates include a maternally-inclined robot, a weepy size-shifter, and Ricky Fitness, you start to gloss over things like a man whose appearance embodies a world showcase of vandalized photographs. And of course, since the Commander never seemed to explain or demonstrate any actual super powers, how was he supposed to know the dang thing was actually magic?

“You go check the bunks,” Bones suggested as they entered the main living space. “I’ll see if he’s in the bathr-”

“The Commander is behind the kitchen counter,” Jimmy cut in, lowering his hand from his temple. 

“N-no he’s not,” whined a voice from the kitchenette. 

Eaglebones sighed through his nose, lips pressed together. Jimmy proceeded forward, crouching behind the counter. 

“Evidence is leaning toward the possibility that you are.”

“Nope, you’ve got the wrong guy.”

Bones joined the scene, curiously leaning over the counter to look down at his distressed leader. The Commander sat on the cold floor, his face hidden behind his knees, which were held close to his chest. His mask had been pulled up to the brim of his helmet.

“Commander, we can  _ see _ you,” Bones pointed out. 

The Commander didn’t look up. He mumbled into his knees.

Jimmy pressed his back against the counter, sitting down next to him. “Commander…” 

“I said does this really seem like a Commander to you?”

His tone wasn’t angry or accusatory. It was just sad.

Jimmy placed a hand on the Commander’s shoulder. He startled slightly at the touch, but leaned into it once Jimmy began a gentle shoulder-rub.

“I can’t take it, Jimmy,” he chattered, his breathing shaky. “I can’t do it. I’m not made for this sort of thing. I don’t know what to do.”

“That’s okay,” Jimmy soothed. “It’s okay. You can sit this one out.”

“Sit this one out?” Eaglebones cut in, rounding the corner to look down at the two. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

The Commander shirked away from Eaglebones’ presence, burrowing into the Robot who was now giving the guitarist a stern look. “Eaglebones, don’t.”

“Shouldn’t this be his moment to shine?” Bones continued. “What, he’s just going to let them get away with this while we clean up? We’re not going to go on some grand adventure to make him realize that the real confidence he needed was inside him all along?”

Jimmy’s eyes were like ice. “Would you want us to send you on a grand adventure to discover you don’t need knee braces?” 

Eaglebones clamped his mouth shut. He opened it slightly, but not for long. He sat down against the stacked mini-fridges. “Yeah, okay.”

The Commander sniffled. “That was a little harsh, Jimmy. He was trying to help.”

“Sorry Eaglebones,” Jimmy apologized. “False equivalency there.”

“It’s cool.”

They sat for a moment, listening to the sounds of Jimmy’s whirring hands, the tram’s engine, and the Commander’s steadying breathing.

“I’m pretty pathetic, huh?” he smiled weakly.

“No.” Jimmy shut him down, ceasing his massage and draping his arms around the Commander. “You’re fine.”

“But I shouldn’t  _ need _ some magic tooth to make me a good leader,” he argued, sinking deeper into Jimmy’s arms. “I don’t want to rely on magic to make me not want to throw up at the thought of fighting a giant monster. I don’t want to need some magic shard to give me the energy to get up in the morning. It’s like some emotional crutch.”

“Dude,” Eaglebones scooted closer, “That term  _ sucks. _ ”

The Commander looked up. “Huh?”

“Believe me, I’ve used crutches a  _ lot, _ ” Bones continued softly, crossing his arms. “When I was a little kid, I probably used them more than I used my legs. And you know why? Human bodies aren’t made for bird bones. My legs were like pretzel sticks. Crutches are there for support. They’re necessary, alright? Don’t say it like it’s a bad thing.”

He slid over to where the other two sat, putting a hand on the Commander’s shoulder. “Yeah, you probably wish you could go without having depressive episodes or having a heart attack when we have to beat up a bad guy. I wish I didn’t break my bones every other fight. Crash probably wishes he could go to more movies with cute animals without the fear of breaking the theater if the film takes a sad turn, which is pretty much always. But we’ve got ways to help ourselves, and we’ve got each other.”

The Commander smiled, the gap in his teeth peeking through.

“Guys? It’s go time!” Ricky shouted.

Jimmy untangled himself from the Commander, helping him up and guiding him to the couch. Eaglebones followed him out the door, leaning into the doorway and giving the Commander a thumbs-up.

“It’s okay to need help,” he affirmed before rushing into the hall. 

“Even if the thing that helps you is an artifact of pure evil!” The Commander called out, returning the thumbs-up.

“Exactly!” Eaglebones shouted back as he followed Jimmy out of the tram. 

“...Wait, what?”

**Author's Note:**

> "The Muscle Wizard" is not a real Aquabats villain. It's a D&D strategy. I just didn't know what villain to use for stealing a magic tooth, and it sounded perfect.
> 
> If you've got any thoughts about how I tackled this, I'd love to hear 'em! And yeah, a bit of MCBC's struggles are parallel to my own. I don't recommend using evil magic shards to combat depression but if you've got a spare magic shard, hit me up, I'm curious.


End file.
